Art and Creativity: So You Want to Become a Commercially Successful Artist?

"I wish I could just work with my art full time and support myself!"

It's a phrase we hear variations of on a regular basis, here at the Red Dragonfly Gallery. 

The Dream of the Artistic Life

I would venture a guess that most creative and artistic people have entertained the dream of checking out of their day job and just working as a full-time artist.

However, the reality of what it takes to be a full-time artist is often quite different from what people have in mind. And typically it involves a lot more work than people expect.

The truth is that very few people actually derive a full time living from art. The vast majority of artists-- even some very talented ones-- have full-time "day jobs" and just work on art in their spare time. At the Red Dragonfly, we have some 50+ artists in our files, and currently only three of them are full-time artists.

How Much Money do You Need to Live?

"Doing the math" can be a challenging and sometimes heart breaking exercise for aspiring artists. Some don't even want to look at it, stating that they "don't DO numbers!" and that the money will somehow "take care of itself." Well, unless you happen to be a trust fund baby or have the sponsorship of a wealthy "patron," that's not the most sane approach to take.

Discovering that you need to paint and sell 100 paintings a year just to break even might not be the news someone expected to come up against-- especially if they are used to finishing just one piece a month. 

"But that wouldn't be fun, anymore!" as one of the protests I have heard, quite a bit. 

Of course, the reality of being a full-time artist is that you have to produce enough work to sell for enough money that you can make at least a basic living, if not a comfortable one. One of the unpleasant truths might be the discovery that you simply can't make enough art to make a living; OR that you might have to substantially raise your prices in order to up your income-- which carries with it a whole set of separate headaches.

So Just How Good a Salesperson Are You?

Being a commercially viable artist is quite different from being a hobbyist.

It might be relatively easy to sell "a few" of your pieces; it's quite a different thing to have to sell dozens every month, just to keep your rent paid.

Suddenly geographical considerations may come into play. Your local market might be plenty big enough support those purchases of "a few" pieces every month like you've been doing for years... but to sell dozens of pieces, you might find you need to cast your net much further afield.

Are you a good salesperson?

Whereas we'd like to think that "our art speaks for itself," fact remains that you need to be able to contact art sellers in other towns and make a strong case for why they should choose your art, rather than someone local to their town. You have to be able to "sell yourself," and many artists are uncomfortable with that.

And there's more to that equation than merely being able to get your work into galleries. Most likely, you will also want to keep and maintain a dynamic web site, and have a strong presence on various social media platforms... which is a whole different form of "selling yourself." 

Which brings us to the next question:

The Wholesale Issue

When you have ambitions of going full time, odds are you'll not be able to just sell your art directly to collectors and fans directly. Of course, in these technological days more and more artists are finding a measure of success creating "online galleries" and selling their art worldwide. But that still may not be enough.

The most natural solution is to sell your art through art galleries-- either as commission sales, or through outright wholesale sales.

Of course, that means giving up some of the money you could be making. Galleries that take your work in on commission typically get 30-40% of the final sales price... which brings us back to the question of whether you can actually "afford" that?

Over time, there's a big difference between actually getting $150 for each piece of art rather than the $250 you are used to from selling directly.

Enjoyment and Pleasure-- it Matters!

In the end, the sticking point we most often come back to is whether or not the artist is enjoying themselves. 

Most creative people do what they do because they have a passion for art; they feel it is a calling. And usually there is a great deal of joy involved in creating and the creative process. 

When considering whether to "go full time," ask yourself whether you still think you'll be enjoying yourself, once you take on the almost inevitable extra work. Because if creativity starts to feel too much like drudgery, it will show in the quality of your work. 

Besides, most people love art too much to be willing to give up the enjoyment, simply to make a few extra dollars.

Thank you for reading! Red Dragonfly is a proud member of the @sndbox creative initiative.

The Red Dragonfly is an independent alternative art gallery located in Port Townsend, WA; showcasing edgy and unique contemporary art & handmade crafts by local and worldwide artists. All images are our own, unless otherwise credited. Where applicable, artist images used with permission.